Santi Cazorla's stunning stoppage-time free-kick gave Málaga a deserved point to halt Real Madrid's 11-match winning run in La Liga. Iker Casillas and Willy Caballero made smart stops to deny Salomon Rondon and Cristiano Ronaldo within the first five minutes but after Isco had missed another good chance for the visitors it was Madrid who went in front as Ronaldo's cross found Benzema free at the far post to head home.

Another save from Caballero denied Ronaldo doubling Madrid's advantage early in the second half but the hosts struggled to kill the game off and that proved costly as Cazorla curled a 25-yard free-kick into Casillas' top corner in the 92nd minute.

Roberto Soldado scored a hat-trick as Valencia strengthened their position in third place with a commanding 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. The Spain international took advantage of a weak backpass from Mikel San José to round Gorka Iraizoz and put the visitors in front just before half-time and he doubled Valencia's lead 12 minutes after the break with another excellent finish from Jordi Alba's cut-back. Andoni Iraola was then sent off for Athletic for a second bookable offence when he brought down Alba and their misery was complete with five minutes to go when Fernando Teixeira Vitienes awarded a harsh penalty for handball by San José and Soldado confidently stroked home from the spot.

Ten-man Real Mallorca brought Atlético Madrid down to earth with a 2-1 victory in an eventful match at the Iberostar Stadium. The visitors had celebrated progression through to the last eight of the Europa League in midweek but a Diego Godin own-goal and Michael Pereira strike left them trailing to Mallorca. The dismissal of Ivan Ramis gave Atlético hope of a comeback but a missed penalty from Falcao proved costly as his later goal was not enough to rescue Diego Simeone's side.

Xavi Torres scored the winner deep into stoppage-time to boost Levante's hopes of a top-four finish. The 1-0 defeat was the final straw for the Villarreal board, who sacked the coach, Jose Molina, after the match. It was Villarreal's third defeat in a row in the league and left them one place and three points above the drop zone.